Well today marked a huge milestone in my middle baby’s life.

She started pre-school! I cannot even tell you how much she wanted to do this. She talked about it constantly and would say things like, “well when I start going to my own pre-school…” or “I know my pre-school teacher is going to be soooo nice!”. So when I called a church very close to our home that a couple of friends had raved about, she was thrilled to say the least. I made an appointment to take Sunshine up there on Wednesday (yesterday) and they asked her to start the very next day! She walked into the office on Wednesday and her future teacher happened to be in there, as well as another teacher or two, plus the director. She reached her hand out on her own and said, “Nice to meet you.” and smiled her amazing smile. She truly is a beautiful child. They were smitten, I could tell. Of course I am not a bit biased, so don’t even consider that!!!

I didn’t want to commit to her attending there until Schmoopie and I had discussed it. It only took a few minutes of talking it over, reading their curriculum, field trip schedule, several pages of “get to know the teacher”, and we decided to move forward. I called the director at 7 PM and she said to bring her the next morning and that she would call her teacher to let her know. Sunshine beamed when I told her that she better get a good night’s sleep so she could be ready for school in the morning! It moved fast, but it was pretty exciting!

She woke at the usual time and came downstairs dressed in the dress she picked out, socks and I had her shoes laid out that she had asked me to wipe down to “make sure they wouldn’t get dirt on her classroom floor”. She ate breakfast, took some pictures, helped me decide what to pack in her hand-me-down lunchbox (that Punkin graciously gave to her and she was ecstatic about!).

She then told her dad and sister goodbye and watched them leave. That was at 7. By 7:03 she was chomping at the bit to head out herself and it was hard to contain her excitement. We left about 8 because we needed to pick up a few school supplies for her. She was on her very best behavior and as usual, charmed the socks off the cashiers.

It was then time to head to her school. We got there a few minutes early and walked over slowly, pausing to take a picture by a sign.

She told Bingo all about where they were and where she was going. She also decided to jog on ahead of us a few times. As you can tell by the blurriness, she didn’t care if I kept up or not.

We got there and her teacher smiled brightly at her as we walked in the door. She showed Sunshine where to put her bag, lunchbox and water bottle. Then led her around the classroom to see all the different activities she was allowed to engage in at that time.

Her teacher offered a photo opp. and then it was our cue to leave.

Now remember that she was FINE up until this point. Then it hit her. Momma was leaving. There wasn’t going to be any big sister or little brother to play with. She was going to be alone and her face drained of color. She started clinging to my leg and got really quiet. I bent down, holding her tightly and whispered that she was going to have soooo much fun. I reminded her of the playground, art they had planned and all the new “centers” that she could explore. She straightened up a bit, but was still a little scared. Her teacher took her hand and told her that she could hang out with her for a little while and that seemed to make everything better.

I meanwhile started feeling a bit anxious my own self and had to skedaddle to the car before I lost it. I may or may not have gotten a little teary in the car, as I have a really hard time remembering. *wink*

Bingo and I spent the morning running errands and then landed at our friend’s house to hang out. He stayed with them while I went to pick up Ms. Pre-Schooler, so that I could give her a little more attention and chat with her teacher uninterrupted.

When I got there, Sunshine immediately showed me that she got her own tote bag, decorated with her name and paints. She also made a few pictures and said she met some friends, although she could not recall any names.

We took our time leaving and she obliged me in sitting on a stone bench so I could take a picture of her.

She then preceeded to remind me that she was indeed still Sunshine, when she reached her arms up and asked me to hold her.

In the car we got to talking and she mentioned that she needed to take her shoes off. I asked her if they hurt her feet and she told me that they didn’t, but that on the playground she had gotten tiny rocks in them. I started smiling because she then told me that she didn’t know if she was allowed to take them off to empty the rocks, so she just wore them like that all day. Poor baby! I assured her that her teacher would be okay with her dumping the rocks out tomorrow.

At dinner tonight she offered info about her school and such. She turned to her dad and said, “I know Ms. C. was impressed with me.” I asked her if that’s what her teacher said to her. She smiled and said, “No. But I saw her watching me on the playground and every time she looked at me she had this great big smile on her face.”

AHHHHH! She melts my heart!

I am so glad she had a nice, fun day! I knew she would!